Jessica L. Breuer, 25, of the 500 block of East Taylor Street, told police she choked the boy – who is the son of one of her friends – April 23 in her apartment because she was angry he had bit her, DeKalb police Lt. Bob Redel said.

Medical professionals are considering taking the baby off life support this week, Redel said.

Breuer, who court records indicate suffers from bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder, was charged Thursday with aggravated battery of a child younger than 13 and aggravated battery. If convicted of the more serious charge, Breuer would be sentenced to between six and 30 years in prison. The case is next due in court June 12.

If the toddler dies, criminal charges against Breuer could be upgraded, Redel said.

The boy and his mother were spending the night at Breuer’s apartment, and the mother was asleep when the incident happened, Redel said.

Breuer sought medical attention for the baby after she stopped choking him and realized his body had gone limp. A doctor told police the amount of brain damage the baby suffered indicated he was without air for at least six minutes, Redel said.

Redel said he did not know if Breuer was taking all her prescribed medications at the time of the incidents.

On Jan. 31, Breuer wrote in an application for an order of protection that she had stopped taking her night medications five or six days earlier because she was afraid of an ex-boyfriend who had been contacting her on Facebook, and she didn’t want to fall asleep because she was having night terrors.

A few days before that, she had started sleeping in her bathtub with a pocket knife, pepper spray and a flashlight, as well as leaving all the lights on in her apartment. She had considered harming herself Jan. 28 over the situation, Breuer wrote in court records.

“I want this order of protection so I can go to sleep and go back on my meds and not have to be terrified of the dark because of him,” Breuer said.

She also indicated that she had blocked the ex-boyfriend on Facebook on her case worker’s direction. The order of protection was granted Jan. 31.

Almost a week later, an annual report filed in a guardianship case indicated her mental condition was unstable but partially in remission with medication.

On May 1, her adoptive parents filed paperwork asking a judge to charge her legal disability status so she could pursue a driver’s license. Breuer was seeking a certificate in floral arrangement from Kishwaukee College, living alone in a monitored apartment and learning to drive, but her status as legally disabled prevented her from receiving a driver’s license, court records show.